Modification means for changing wheeled vehicles to all-terrain vehicles

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical drum coaxially affixed to each wheel of a wheeled vehicle so as to rotate therewith, endless belts affixed in overlying relationship to the drums and tires fixedly attached in a flat orientation to the outer surface of the endless belts to provide support for the vehicle for substantially any terrain.

United States Patent 1191 Russell [54] MODIFICATION MEANS FOR CHANGINGWHEELED VEHICLES TO ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES [76] Inventor: Kenneth M.Russell, 1070 Forestvale Lane, Helena, Mont. 59601 [22] Filed: March 17,1971 [21] Appl.No.: 125,308

[52] US. Cl ..305/34, 305/35 EB, 152/334 [51] Int. Cl. ..B62d 55/24 [58]Field of Sea'rch....l52/56, 58, 67, 170, 173, 174, 152/175, 178,179,334,185-187,190, 191;

[56] y References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS Laycock ..305/34 X 1Jan. 23, 1973 1,935,950 11/1933 Lawrence ..l52/l87 X 2,416,183 2/1947Kraft ..305/34 X 3,313,263 4/1967 Ferguson ..305/34 X 3,170,533 2/1965Fewel ..305/34 X Primary Examiner-Richard J. Johnson Attorney-Merchant &Gould [57] ABSTRACT A cylindrical drum coaxially affixed to each wheelof a wheeled vehicle so as to rotate therewith, endless belts affixed inoverlying relationship to the drums and tires fixedly attached in a flatorientation to the outer surface of the endless belts to provide supportfor the vehicle for substantially any terrain.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENIEnmza I975 3,712,688

INVENTOR. Aim [M M fame-44 WHEELED VEHICLES TO ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION vehicles are generally not useful for draftpurposes and i the like. Further, because'the all-terrain vehicles arebuilt for one special purpose, i.e. travel'over all types of terrain,they are expensive, they constitute additional equipment tostore, andthey must be purchased in addition to other vehicles rather than inplace of other vehicles.

. I SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains tomodification means for changing wheeled vehicles to all-terrain vehiclesincluding. a plurality of cylinders withmeans for affixing one each ofsaid cylinders to the wheels of a vehicle and a plurality of flat,endless belts each having" a plurality of tires affixed to'the outersurface thereof in flat side-by-side relationship with said endlessbelts affixed in overlying relationship on said cylinders so as torotate with the wheels of the vehicle- It is an object of the presentinvention to provide means for modifying substantially any vehicle tochange it to an all-terrain vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED V EMBODIMENT In the figures the numeralgenerally designates a wheeled vehicle, which in this embodiment isillustrated as a front-end loader. The front-end loader type vehicle 10is directed or steered by means of individual hand brakes or individualdriving means for wheels on either side of the vehicle 10. Theparticular vehicle 10 illustrated is a four-wheel drive vehicle but itshould be understood that the present modification means might beutilized on a great variety of wheeled vehicles and the embodiment ofthe modification means is limited only by the type of steeringincorporated in the vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 3 a cross-sectional view of a wheel 11 of the vehicle10 is illustrated. The modification means includes circular cylinders 15and 16,engaged over the back and front wheels 11, respectively, of thevehicle 10. Each of the cylinders 15 and 16 is similar and includes acylindrical or tubular outer wall 20 and a wall 21 extendingdiametrically across the opening defined by the outer wall 20. The wall21 is spaced inwardly from an outer edge of the outer wall 20 asufficient distance to form a cavity'22 large enough to receive thewheel 11 coaxially therein. In this embodiment four holes are formed inthe wall 21 and four .coaxially aligned holes are formed in the wheel 11so "that bolts 23 are received therethrough and affix each ized to affixthe cylinders 15 and 16 to the wheels 11 but the bolts 23 and wall 21are described herein It is a further object of the present invention toprovide modificationmeans which are relatively simple and inexpensive tomanufacture and use. It is a further objectiof the presentinvention toprovide modification means for wheeled vehicles wherein vehicle tires,which term includes the outer shell and/or theinner tube, are utilizedas the surface on which the vehicle travels and is supported.

These and other objects of this invention will become I apparent tothoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanyingspecification, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, whereinlike characters indicate like parts throughout the figures:

, FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a vehicle having the presentmodification means affixed thereto;

FIG. 2 is a view in top plan of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1,portions thereof broken away; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 3-3 in FIG.1, portions thereof shown in full.

because of their simplicity and ease of installation.

In the present embodiment an endless belt is engaged in overlyingrelationship around cylinders 15 and 16 on each side of the vehicle 10.The endless belt 30 may be a metal link chain type, a woven belt, rubberbelt, or any of the great variety of belts available on the market.While no belt tighteners are illustrated, it should be understood thatsome form of belt tightener will generally be incorporated to insureproper frictional engagement between the cylinders 15, 16 and theendless belt 30. It may also be necessary to provide belt'engagingprotrusions on the outer surface of the outer walls 20 of each of thecylinders 15 and 16 to insure proper movement of the endless belts 30with the cylinders 15 and 16. In the present embodiment the endlessbelts 30 are rubber link belts which frictionally engage the outersurfaces of the cylinders'15 and 16.

A pneumatic, toroidal-shaped, automotive-type tires 40 are provided andpositioned on each of the endless belts 30 in a generally flatorientation with the axis of each tire 40 generally perpendicular to theportion of the endless belt 30 adjacent the tire 40. Inthe presentinvention the term "tire is defined to include the outer shell and/orthe inner tube, either or both of which may be inflatable separately orin combination. It' is anticipated that used tires may be utilized inthe modification kit for economical purposes, although new ones may beutilized if desired.

A 'pair of openings4l are formed in the endless belts 30 approximatelycentrally within each of the tires 40 positioned thereon. A strap isassociated with each of the tires 40 and is threaded around theassociated tire 40 at diametrically opposed portions thereof and throughthe associated openings 41 in the endless belt 30. Each strap 45 hassecuring means 46 which engages both ends of the strap 45 and maintainsit tautly in position. Thus, each strap 45 maintains a tire 40 fixedlyengaged on the outer surface of the endless belt 30 in a generally flatorientation. The tires 40 are positioned in side-by-side relationshiparound the entire outer surface of the endless belt 30 so that thevehicle issupported thereon. in this manner the vehicle 10 is modifiedto become a vehicle which can travel on substantially any surface. Ifthe vehicle 10 is to travel over water the tires 40 must be inflated,whereas if the vehicle 10 is to travel over snow or soft earth the tires40 may simply be uninflated outer casings. Since the endless belts 30are positioned in overlying engagement with the front and rear wheels 11of the vehicle 10, individual means for controlling the brakes or powerof the wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle must be provided to steerthe vehicle. However, if a steering wheel or the like is to be utilizedan endless belt with tires affixed thereto as described may simplysurround the cylinder attached to each wheel.

Thus, apparatus is disclosed for modifying a wheeled vehicle to providean all-terrain vehicle. The present modifying means can be utilized onsubstantially any vehicle and are simple to produce and utilize.Further,

the present modifying means are inexpensive and do' not require theutilization of a special vehicle but may be applied to substantially anywheeled vehicle.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of thisinvention, further modifications and improvements will occur to thoseskilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that thisinvention is not limited to the particular form shown and I intend inthe appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for changing wheeled vehicles to allterrain vehiclescomprising:

a. a plurality of cylinders;

b. means for affixing one each of said plurality of cylinders to thewheels of a vehicle, including a wall within each of the cylinders whichextends diametrically across the cylinder and a plurality of boltsextending through holes in each of said walls and an adjacent one of thewheels of the vehicle for maintaining each of the cylinders in tightcoaxial engagement with a wheel of the vehicle;

. a plurality of generally flat, endless belts affixed in overlyingrelationship to said cylinders for rotation therewith;

. a plurality of toroidal-shaped tires; and

. means for affixing said tires in side-by-side relationship to theouter surface of said belt with the tires oriented so the axis of eachtire is perpendicular to the plane of the portion of belt adjacent thetire.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cylinders have an outerdiameter at least as large as the outer diameter of the wheels of thevehicle.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tires are an inflatabletype.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means for affixing thetires to the belt include a plurality of elongated elastic strapsattached to said belt in encirclinAg en agement with said tires.

5. n a errain vehicle comprising a plurality of endless travelingsurfaces for supporting and carrying said vehicle over the terrain, aplurality of inflatable, pneumatic, toroidal shaped tires affixed in aside-byside relationship over each of said traveling surfaces in aterrain-engaging relationship, said tires being mounted flat againstsaid traveling surfaces so that a normal axis of each said tire isperpendicular to the terrain when engaged therewith, and each said tirebeing affixed to said corresponding traveling surface by a strapencircling said tire and attached to said traveling

1. Apparatus for changing wheeled vehicles to all-terrain vehiclescomprising: a. a plurality of cylinders; b. means for affixing one eachof said plurality of cylinders to the wheels of a vehicle, including awall within each of the cylinders which extends diametrically across thecylinder and a plurality of bolts extending through holes in each ofsaid walls and an adjacent one of the wheels of the vehicle formaintaining each of the cylinders in tight coaxial engagement with awheel of the vehicle; c. a plurality of generally flat, endless beltsaffixed in overlying relationship to said cylinders for rotationtherewith; d. a plurality of toroidal-shaped tires; and e. means foraffixing said tires in side-by-side relationship to the outer surface ofsaid belt with the tires oriented so the axis of each tire isperpendicular to the plane of the portion of belt adjacent the tire. 2.Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cylinders have an outerdiameter at least as large as the outer diameter of the wheels of thevehicle.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tires are aninflatable type.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the meansfor affixing the tires to the belt include a plurality of elongatedelastic straps attached to said belt in encircling engagement with saidtires.
 5. An all-terrain vehicle comprising a plurality of endlesstraveling surfaces for supporting and carrying said vehicle over theterrain, a plurality of inflatable, pneumatic, toroidal shaped tiresaffixed in a side-by-side relationship over each of said travelingsurfaces in a terrain-engaging relationship, said tires being mountedflat against said traveling surfaces so that a normal axis of each saidtire is perpendicular to the terrain when engaged therewith, and eachsaid tire being affixed to said corresponding traveling surface by astrap encircling said tire and attached to said traveling surface.